‘Annie’ opens at Albuquerque Little Theatre
The Albuquerque Little Theatre is unwrapping “Annie” just in time for the holidays.
The Tony Award-winning musical will open on Friday, Dec. 1, continuing on weekends through Christmas Eve.
Based on the comic strip of the same name, “Annie” knits an orphan’s street smarts and optimism as the audience witnesses her rise from nextto-nothing in New York City. Determined to find the parents who abandoned her, she manages to thwart the plans of the evil Miss Hannigan and find a new home with billionaire Oliver Warbucks; his secretary, Grace; and her lovable pooch, Sandy. The score by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin features the Broadway hit “Tomorrow.”
“‘Annie’ is such a wonderful, high-spirited, hopeful show,” director Henry Avery said. “In the day and age we’re in now — this is kind of a comment on the wealthy. There’s good will and hope that Annie brings to the table that we all could use as well.”
Script author Thomas Meehan set his story in the similarly downbeat Depression during the height of the Nixon era and the Vietnam War. The musical opened on Broadway in 1977.
The audience meets Annie in the orphanage, talking about how she believes her parents are out there somewhere. Warbucks decides to adopt
an orphan for Christmas. His secretary plucks Annie from the home.
“Very quickly, he just falls in love with her,” Avery said. “He decides he wants to adopt her. She doesn’t want that. She wants her own parents.”
Miss Hannigan decides to exploit the situation by hiring a couple to pose as Annie’s parents to collect the reward. Soon the FBI and even President Franklin D. Roosevelt get involved and foil her plans.
“It turns out Annie’s parents have passed away and Warbucks adopts her and everybody lives happily ever after,” Avery said.
The canine playing Sandy was cast from the ALT’s board president.
“It’s a rescue dog, and it’s the perfect look for Sandy,” Avery said.
The dog — his real name is Lobo —tried out for a role in the ALT’s recent production of “The Miracle Worker,” but he grew nervous when surrounded by squabbling children and the actress who played Helen Keller. “Annie” is a better fit, Avery said.
“When Annie starts singing to him, he just rolls on his back and lets her scratch his stomach,” he added. “We’ve told him nobody can play with him or feed him except for Annie.”
“Annie” stars Albuquerque’s Nina Martinez Kish as the title character.